Songs, Tears and Happy Endings
by LilyTrash
Summary: They all have their fears, their insecurites and problems, and they all have stories to tell, some sad and some silly, some lonely and some full of friends. Pearlina, Agent 3 x Callie, Agent 4 x Marie, all of this gay and there is nothing you can do to stop me.
1. Chapter 1

It was getting evening in the peaceful city of Inkopolis, the sun slowsly starting to set, but that didn't stop most of the inklings to squeeze in a few last battles before it got too dark. In another part of the city, the two newest idols were just returning to their home after a long day of announcing battle stages.  
Sighing deeply, Pearl entered the small, cozy apartment she shared with her friend and let herself fall into a big, cushioned seat, which seemed way too big for her tiny frame.  
She lazily looked over to Marina and for a moment admired her beauty with a slight blush, before quickly retracting her gaze to stare at the ceiling. This caused her to miss how Marina put her bag down a little too forcefully, while standing with her back to the rapper, who was oblivious to her friends sour mood.  
"Finally, works over. It felt like forever today, didn't it?"  
Being met with silence, she looked back to Marina, her head tilted in confusion.  
"Mar? Did you hear me? I sa-"  
"I heard you very well."  
The octolings voice was cold as ice, and it made Pearl flinch back in her seat,  
and without giving the inkling an opportunity to ask what was wrong, Marina continued.  
"I just thought you could better talk to your _best friend_ about your day."  
Pearl looked at her with a puzzled expression for a moment,  
wondering what the octoling was talking about, before she remembered what she had said earlier that day, about going to a cake shop with her best friend. She hadn't thought anything of it at the time, and neither had she realized that she implied that Marina wasn't her best friend.  
"That's what this is about? Marina, you're important to me, but there's a difference between you and my friend, because I-," she cut herself of, realizing what she had been about to say. A barely noticeable blush dusted her cheeks as she looked for words. "You're one of my closest friends Mar, you just...uh... Fall into a different category?" she cringed slightly at her terrible choice of words.  
Marina fell into the category 'Huge gay crush', but the DJ didn't need to know that, now did she?  
The other girl probably didn't agree with that, judging by silver glare that pierced through the tiny squid, making her squirm more.  
"A different category? _Which_ category, Pearl? I would _love_ to know."  
Golden eyes focused on the floor, silence spreading over the room while Pearl made herself even smaller than she already was.  
The deafening, horrible silence continued, until finally Marina let out an exasperated sigh.  
"You know what? It doesn't matter." she said, bitterness in her voice as she turned away once again. "I'm tired. I'm going to bed."  
And with that, she left. No 'Good night Pearlie!' or 'Sleep tight!'. The last thing that Pearl heard from Marinas were her steps, and the door to her room being slammed shut with way more force than necessary.  
Pearl was left behind, sitting alone in her seat as the lights outside darkened further, slowly but surely inking the living room in the dark colors of the night.  
The argument had left her feeling sick and drained, and an almost painful lump formed in her stomach. For a while, she sat in the darkness, no lights there to stop it from completely engulfing her in it's depressing dullness. Her head swirled with too many thoughts to actually think clear and at the same time it felt so empty, similar to the feeling that had spread in her chest.

After pitying herself for long enough, she finally got up and moved to her own room,

with her limbs feeling heavy with a sudden exhaustion that hadn't been there before.  
After changing into her pajamas, stumbling around while doing so, as she had not bothered to turn on the lights. Pearl slipped into her bed, which suddenly felt way too big and empty for her.  
Here, in the safety of her bed and the dark, she finally let silent tears escape from her eyes.

Three days had passed since their argument. In front of the cameras, both acted like nothing had happened, but as soon as they turned off, Marina fell into an icy silence.  
Today was a free day for the two idols, and Pearl had decided to pay a visit to the reason for this whole fight.  
So now she sat in an old seat in her best friends tiny apartment, wearing an old, oversized (many things were oversized for her) and washed out light grey hoodies, while said friend had gotten comfortable on her old, worn down couch - sitting upside down, her legs resting where her back was supposed to be. She carefully listened to the pinkish-white inkling, all the while munching on a piece of chocolate, which she had taken from the chocolate that was lying on the table right in front of the couch, only giving a thoughtful nod every now and then.  
"That," she finally said, after Pearl finished telling her the whole story, "is indeed a problem." She munched on her chocolate again. "And we need to find a solution for it."  
"That's what I came her for," muttered the older inkling, picking up a piece of the chocolate herself.  
"You know just as well as I do that it'd be best to just tell her. You don't need me to tell you that, do you?"  
Pearl groaned and let herself fall back. "I know, Vienne, but... what if she doesn't feel the same? What if she thinks it's weird, or disgusting, or what if it makes everything awkward, and then Off The Hook would break up and then she would surely hate me and-"

"Hush dear, you're overthinking."

Vienne, for a few selected individuals also known as Agent 4, cut her off, giving her a stern glare. "Besides, judging from all the things you told me about your precious Marina, she seems way too kind and nice to do something like that. Don't you trust her that she would accept you?"

A long silence followed, the only thing heard being Viennes munching while she took another piece of chocolate. Finally, a long tired sigh came from her smaller friend who had slumped even deeper back into the seat.

"You're right. I'm thinking too much. But, still... how am I supposed to tell her?"  
Vienne was silent for a moment, before her upper body shot up, making her lose balance and fall of the couch. She immediately got up again though, a grin on her face and determination shining in her eyes.  
"Don't worry about it P! I'll think of something! It will be the greatest confession of love of all time!" The inkling posed dramatically, one hand on her chest and the other outstretched.  
Pearl looked at her skeptically at first, but then couldn't help the small smile spreading over face as she shook her head at her friends antics, knowing she wouldn't let her down.  
Suddenly, Vienne jumped up again, pulling out her phone and checking it with big eyes.  
"Oh shoot! I'm late! Sorry P, but I gotta go, I have this super important thing! I can't tell you what it is, but it's really important and stuff!" The inkling was now rushing around the room they sat in in a frenzy, grabbing a few items here and there before stuffing them in a bag she had also grabbed.  
Pearl had already gotten up with a sigh, and walked towards the door while stretching a little. This wasn't the first time this had happened, and it wouldn't be last. She had never asked what her "super important thing" was, but she thought that everyone had the right to have some secrets.  
"You're as scatterbrained as always, Vienne." She paused as she opened the door, and looked back for a moment. "Thanks for listening to me, by the way."  
She still caught her friends grin and her goofy salute, accompanied by a " _Anytime_!", before she closed the door behind her and started to make her way back home.

"I have absolutely _no idea_ what she could do."  
Agent 4 flopped onto her back and let out an exasperated sigh, looking up with a pout, frustrated over her futile atempts to come up with a good way to confess for Pearl.  
Near her sat Agent 1, leaning against the small hut that stood in the canyon with a thoughtful expression. After Agent 4 had rescued her from Octavio, they had befriended each other quickly, bickering and teasing each other at every opportunity. The Squid Sisters had also decided to take a break from their idol activities, to have more time for each other and fo their work as Agents, since poor Vienne couldn't patrol both the canyon and the valley all on her own.  
Having noticed how deep in thoughts the younger inkling during one of these patrol was, Callie had kept nagging until zhe younger agent had told what had occupied her normally scattered thoughts so much.  
Now they were both trying to come up with "the greatest confession of love of all time".  
"You knoooow..." started the idol slowly, looking over to her, "maybe she could perform a love song? That would be pretty romantic, right?" Her eyes already started to sparkle with excitement, "And me and Marie could perform with her! At least, in the background maybe? The break is nice, but I do miss performing!" She bounced a little as she waited for Viennes answer, who was making thoughtful expression again.  
"Of course something like that would be very romantic, but... I don't know wether Pearl would agree to that. I mean, confessing in front of a lot of people..." she paused for a moment. "Then again, if she doesn't directly say who it's for..."  
She started to grin, the same sparkle in in her eyes as the older agent.  
"Can't hurt to try!"  
"Can't hurt to try what?"  
The calm voice of the other part of the Squid Sisters that suddenly appeared behind her startled Vienne, a barely noticeable blush spreading across her face as she tried to say something, her voice seeming to have died of completely all of a sudden.  
Callie quickly answered her cousin, to safe her poor friend who had gone into useless lesbian mode. "Marie! Perfect timing! We were talking about us two performing again, together with Agent 4s friend! The little inkling from Off The Hook!"  
Marie only tilted her head with a slightly puzzled look on her face.  
"That does sound interesting, but...why, and so suddenly?"  
"It's for love, Marie! Don't you wanna help young inkling love? Ehm... and octoling love too?"  
Next to her, Agent 4 had to stiffle a snicker, and looked over to the older inkling. "Pearl's had an argument with Marina, and I want to help her to make up with her again. And...I guess it's...a little bit my fault? So, yeah, that's a reason too..." the agent mumbled with a sheepish grin as she rubbed the back of her head.  
For a moment, the white tentacled girl looked from Agent 4 to Callie and back, her expression unreadable, before letting out a quiet sigh.

"Alright I guess, it seems like Callie is already completely fixated on the idea anyway." Her cousin beamed at her and clapped excitedly. "Yaaaay! Agent 4, quick, quick, get your friend here!"  
Already getting out her phone to text Pearl, the agent muttered something like

"I have a name, you know", while she started texting.

In the same moment, the inkling that all the fuss was about sat in her favorite giant seat in her apartment, reading a magazine, and getting ignored by her roommate, who seemed to make it a point to be in the same room as her but completely deny the small squids entire existence.  
Suddenly, Pearls phone began crazy, vibrating every few seconds with messages. Fishing it out of her hoodies pocket, she unlocked it, just to be metaphorically hit by a shit ton of messages - although they all only came from one person.

 **ViVi (19:16 pm)**  
Pearl  
Pearl  
Pearl  
Pearl  
Pearl  
 **(19:17)**  
Pearl  
Pearl  
Pearl  
Pearl  
Pearl  
Pearl  
Pearl  
Pearl  
Pearl  
Pearl

 **Pearl (19:17 pm)**  
What

 **ViVi (19:18 pm)**  
Oh hey, there you are :3c  
I need you to come to da square  
 **(19:19 pm)**  
Like rn  
Please  
Much important

 **Pearl (19:19 pm)**  
Why

 **ViVi (19:20)**  
Just  
Come here  
It's because of the Marina problem  
Trust me it's great

 **Pearl (19:20 pm)**  
Fine  
I'm on my way

Pearl sighed in exasperation and locked her phone again, getting up to put her shoes back on.  
"You're going out again?"  
Marinas voice sounded monotone, and she didn't bother to look up from her own magazine.  
"Yes, I'm meeting a friend. Don't know when I'll be back." She had a hard time trying not to roll her eyes.  
"Your best friend?"  
Pearl stiffled an annoyed groan, her irritation growing as she finished putting on her shoes and walked up to the door.  
"Yes."  
"Didn't you just see her today?"  
Already standing in the open, the inkling now couldn't hold back anymore and whirled around, anger and frustration burning in her eyes.  
"I did, but you know _what_? I'd like to spend some time with the _one friend who's_ _still talking_ _to me_!"  
The words sounded so much more venomous and harsh than she intended them too, and they left a bitter taste in her mouth. Yet, she was too stubborn and proud to apologize, so she just turned around and left the apartment.

This time it was her who slammed the door shut.

Tears burned in her eyes as she walked to the Inkopolis Square, and sobs threatened to break out several times.  
By the time she had reached the Square, Pearl had gotten her emotions mostly under control, and no more tears threatened to spill from her eyes. She was spotted by Vienne almost immediately, making the younger squid bounce up and down, waving frantically.  
She had barely reached her best friend before she was already grabbed and pulled towards a grit, placed near the entrance of a shady looking alley. With a grin and a "Come on!", Vienne jumped into the sewer. Pearl hesitated for a moment and looked around, but none of the few people that were around at this time payed attention to her. She sighed and jumped into the sewer as well, silently praying as she rushed through the pipe.  
You never knew what to expect with Vienne.

Pearl indeed could have never expected or even prepared for the sight that she was greeted with, as she finally jumped out of the sewer.  
The place was completely unfamiliar to her as her eyes wandered around the scenery. There were strange, floating... masses of land, or maybe more islands?  
"Where the are we...?" she muttered in confusion, bare taking notice of the small hut near the sewer.  
"Octo Canyon, but that's not important right now. What is important tho-"  
"Agent 4, you're back! You took forever!"  
Callies head had popped out of the hut, her excited voice effectively cutting the fourth agent off, who rolled her eyes and stuck her tongue out at Callie.  
"Oh please, it was, what, maybe ten minutes? Learn to be more patient, Agent 1."  
Under normal circumstances, Pearl would now make a snarky comment like "Says the right one.", but the inkling was busy staring at the idol, who had stepped out of the hut by now and stuck her tongue back out at Vienne. There were about to pull more faces, had it not been for the sudden sputtering of the pinkish-white inkling, who was still staring at Callie with wide eyes.  
"You- You're-," her gaze moved to her friend, then at Callie, and back again, gesturing wildly.

"What- Why do you- _How_?"

Vienne waved her off lazily. "Eh, long story, also _that's_ not important right now."  
A grin spread across her face, and, to Pearls growing confusion and horror, she noticed the same grin on Callies face, making her take a step back.  
"Stop it, you two. You're scaring the poor girl."  
Neither of the three had noticed the second part of the Squid Sisters stepping out of the hut as well, making Agent 4 look to the side with an uncharacteristic shyness and Agent 1 pout slightly.  
"We're not scaring her! Right, Pearl?" She turned to the smaller inkling again, now smiling brightly. Before the inkling in question could even answer, the idol continued: "By the way, I'm so glad we finally get to meet each other! You need to introduce me to Marina too! I love your songs!"  
Once again the tiny rapper was unable to form a coherent sentence, hearing one of the two people she admired the most say she liked her songs.  
A loud, fake cough caught the attention of everyone gathered, and directed it to Agent 4, who mustered Callie and her best friend. "It's nice that you two have fun fangirling each other, but we're still here for a reason."

The youngest agent quickly laid out their 'genius' plan, how they, namely Pearl and the Squid Sisters, would write and perform a love song for Marina. After she finished, all eyes (even Maries, although she wouldn't admit that the idea did intrigue her) expectantly turned to Pearl, awaiting her answer.  
The inkling in question looked quite skeptical and unsure, looking between from one inkling to the other.  
"I... I don't know... isn't this a little... over the top? And doing something like this publicly, in front of so many people... Besides, I can't even sing, do you want me to rap a love song?"  
Viennes response was to hit her head lightly, resulting in a protesting whine from the tiny rapper.  
"Hush child, you can sing! And you don't have to say who you're singing it for, I'll just let Marina know it's for her!"

"It's been years since the last time I really sung, Vi. I sounded shitty back then, if I try to sing now, everyone's ears will probably start bleeding." Pearl muttered, still unconvinced.  
Vienne took a deep breath, knowing that now there was only one way to convince her, even if it was playing a little dirty.

"Come ooooon, Pearliiiee, are you scaaared?" she singsonged, a mocking tone to her voice.  
She immediately received a glare and a sharp reply: "No, I'm not! I'm never scared!"  
"Oh reeeeaaaaally? Cause to me it seems like you're _totally_ scaaaareeed."  
She leaned towards her, a shit-eating grin on her face because she knew she had already won.  
"I'm not! Fine, I'll do it, you happy now?!"  
Agent 4 leaned back again, now grinning normally and giggling slightly.  
"Yes! And you'll be happy soon, too!"  
Behind them, Callie let out a happy squeal, bouncing up and down again in excitement, while Marie just silently rolled her eyes at her cousins childish behavior.

Since it was already late, the time close to half past eight, and the darkness of night was setting in, the four inklings parted ways, planning to start working on their plan the next day.  
Since Vienne and Pearl were living close to each other and in the same direction, they walked back together for a bit, giving the smaller inkling the opportunity to ask some questions.  
"Okay, but, would you mind telling me why the heck you're friends with the Squid Sisters?"  
Vienne grinned devilishly. "Sorry P, that's a secret. Let's just say, I have my ways of meeting people."

Pearl didn't need to know that she just jumped into a sewer, to follow a mysterious woman that kinda looked like her favorite idol, did she?

The two soon parted ways, and Pearl returned to her and Marinas apartment, a suddenly feeling quite exhausted. All the excitement had left her feeling drained of her energy, and she sighed with relief when she finally entered her home, noticing that Marina was still in the living room, and was also still ignoring her.  
Well, she hadn't been gone that long.  
Her thoughts were still on the previous encounter while she moved to the fridge to get out something to drink, wondering wether all of that actually happened or if she was actually sleeping and this was all just a weird dream, since it all happened so fast and seemed so... surreal.  
Lost in her thoughts, she finished her drink and was about to put it back, when she suddenly thought, Holy shit am I actually going to perform with the Squid Sisters?!  
The realization of what she agreed to do hit her in the face like a brick and the bottle, thankfully closed and made of plastic, fell from her hand as she was overwhelmed by a wave of panic. She was going to perform with the Squid Sisters, and she was going to perform a love song, _in front of a bunch of people,_ _ **for one of her closest friends**_ _._  
 _Holy shit. Holy shit. Holy shit holy shit holy shit. This is happening. This is actually happening. What the fuck. What. The. Fuck. Okay, calm down, don't panic, or just,_ stop _panicking. You got this. You can't back out now anyway. Fuck you Vivi._  
Numb to everything around her as her inner turmoil unfolded, she didn't notice her roommate, who had been alerted by the sound of the bottle hitting the ground.  
The inklings frozen state had alarmed her, and her worry for friend temporarily won over her anger as she moved over to her.  
"Pearl? What's wrong?"  
The sudden voice next to her made the inkling in question jump and snap out of her panic, the storm of fear and anxiety inside of her coming to a sudden halt.  
Noticing the bottle on the ground, she picked it up, trying to stall some time to collect her thoughts and think of an answer.  
"Nothing's wrong. I'm just tired and got... lost in thoughts."  
A lame excuse, but it'd have to do. It wasn't even a complete lie, she just didn't tell the whole truth. She didn't tell _most_ of the truth.  
After putting the bottle away, she quickly moved past a confused Marina.  
"Pearl, wait, you just looked really... panicked. Did... something happen when you where with you're friend?"  
"You could...say that something happened," she sighed, before she suddenly realized something and grinned both tiredly playful at the octoling.  
"Hey, since when are you talking to me again?"  
Marina looked taken aback for a moment, before she scowled.  
"Oh, _pardon_ me, that I was worried about you. I won't make that mistake again." she spat and turned around, returnig to her seat .  
Pearl stood still, mentally hitting herself for her stupidity. She had hoped that she could pull her into some playful banter, just so she could pretend for a moment that everything between them was fine. Still frozen in place, she desperately looked for words, but they seemed to be stuck in her throat, suffocating her and making fresh tears burn in her eyes.

A glance towards Marina told her that she had gone back to the book she had been reading before, paying no mind to the inkling. Pearl took a shuddering breath, trying to think of how Vienne would yell motivational things at her - she had weird method for pep talks, but they worked somehow. "Marina...I..." her voice sounded so quiet, and like it would break any minute.

She wasn't even sure if the other girl had heard her, as she hadn't reacted at all.

Nonetheless, she continued, tired of this empty feeling inside of her.

"I... I'm sorry. I...didn't mean to make you feel like you're not important to me. You are one of the most important people in my life and I don't know what I'd do without out to be honest."

She paused to take a deep breath, as her vision started to blur with tears she tried to blink away.

She could feel Marinas gaze on her, no longer piercing through her at least, but still not giving away her emotions. "But... my friend is also important to me, Marina. I've known her since I was a kid, and she's...more a little sister to me than just a friend. She was...always there for me, and I don't know what I'd be doing without her either.

I'm sorry Marina, I should have tried to talk to you about this. I was too proud to apologize to you, and I was too stubborn to try and explain everything to you. I...hope that you can forgive me, for being an idiot." Pearl sighed, somewhat relieved, feeling lighter after saying all of this out loud.

But now she had to await Marinas answer, and the mixture of tension and relief made her feel dizzy. As she was focused on calming herself down, Pearl didn't notice that the octoling had approached her. Only when a pair of arms suddenly wrapped around her tiny frame and pulled her close did Pearl look up, to find a crying Marina, who was squeezing her half to death.

"Pearlie... I... I'm sorry too... I didn't even bother to think about how you felt about this,

and I acted so childish when I ignored you! It's just that..." the taller girl looked to the side,

a blush in the greenish color of her the ink spread over her cheeks, made even more visible by the darker tone of her skin. "...you're the most important person in my life, Pearlie, and the thought that I wasn't the same for you made me so... angry, and jealous, and sad, and it hurt and I got scared that I'm not important to you at all and-" Marina was cut off by her own sobs, which she couldn't hold back anymore, as she squeezed the poor inkling even tighter. "Marina... please let go...! You're going to splat me...!" the tiny rapper managed to get out through her limited oxygen intake.

"Ah, I'm sorry Pearlie!" the DJ squeaked and let go of her friend. After getting a little more air into her lungs, she looked up at Marina, a soft smile gracing her features. And suddenly, she started to giggle, as she wiped the remaining tears from her face. "I can't believe you would think you weren't important to me. I wouldn't be where I am now if it wasn't for you, Marina. I guess I'm not the only idiot here." she said teasingly, still giggling every few seconds. The laugh that came from the taller girl made Pearls heart skip a beat, relieved and so happy to hear that laugh again that she almost started to cry again. "I guess we both really are idiots. That's probably why we fit so well together!" She grinned and giggled softly, pulling the small rapper into her arms again, this time more carefully though. Pearl couldn't resist the temptation to hug her a little tighter than necessary, a sigh of content leaving her small body. After they finally let go of each other, the two of them decided to celebrate the end of their fight with watching TV together, with fluffy blankets, snacks and while snuggled up a little closer to each other than normal friends did.  
_

The days after that seemed peaceful as the two had resumed their normal routines, although Pearl had been out suspiciously often, and for a long time too. She left right after work, and came back late in the evening, or even in the middle of the night, tired and exhausted.  
When Marina asked about it, Pearl had just waved her of and said "You'll see soon."  
It worried the octoling, that Pearl acted so strangely right after they ended they fight. Was she not alright after all?  
While Marina walked home from work, alone once again and pondering over her friends whereabouts, she noticed a poster in the corner of her eye, which had definitely not been there before.  
A closer look told her that it was advertising an upcoming concert of the Squid Sisters. Excitement bubbled up in the DJ, presented with the opportunity to hear Inkopolis biggest idols live again!  
What confused her a little though was the fact that it said they would perform at the Inkopolis Square, where her and Pearl normally performed, and not at the Plaza, where the Squid Sisters used to host the Splatfest. Her excitement won over her confusion though, and she went home, her before troubled mind now distracted from the thoughts of her small friend.

The next few days went by quickly as the Squid Sisters performance moved closer and closer, until it had finally arrived. Marina had finally caught Pearl at home for once that day, immediately using her chance to talk to her with an excited grin on her face. "Pearliiiee, are you excited for the Squid Sisters, too? I can't wait until tonight! This is so exciting!" The green-tentacled girl said with a squeak, although her excited expression faded when she noticed Pearls troubled face. "Pearlie? Is everything alright?"  
With a nervous glance to the side, the inkling replied: "I... I'm sorry Marina, but I can't come tonight. I have... uh... something important to do." she mumbled with an unusual shyness.  
Disappointment rushed through Marina, accompanied by confusion.  
"But Pearlie, it's the /Squid Sisters/ ! You probably love them more than I do! What could be more important than this?"  
A blush crept over the pale inklings face as she fidgeted uneasily.  
"I-I can't tell you yet, b-but... you'll see it tonight, I promise..."  
Pearl inhaled shakily, her whole body tense. She didn't even give Marina a chance to ask more questions as she quickly moved past her.  
"Welligottagonowokaybyeseeyalater."  
She squeaked way to fast for anyone to understand, and quickly grabbed her bag before disappearing through the door.  
Left behind, Marina could only stare at the now closed door, more confused than ever before.

The hours past and the day past faded into the evening and finally the night. Most of the inhabitants of Inkopolis started to make their way to the Square, excited chattering sounding through the chilly night air. Unnoticed by them, a figure in a large hoodie walked with them, hiding her octoling tentacles under the hood in the hopes that she wouldn't be recognized and could enjoy the concert in peace.  
Arriving at the square, she stood to the side as she waited for the concert to begin. The excitement she had felt before had subsided as she realized how alone and vulnerable she was here without Pearl.  
Suddenly, while she was checking her phone, a figure popped up next to her out of seemingly nowhere. A young girl around her age, a little taller than the average inkling but still smaller than Marina. Her short cut tentacles were bright pink, and she had a wide, excited, and mischievous grin on her face.  
"Hi Marina! You alright? You look a lil' nervous." the stranger said, still smiling and talking like they were friends or something.  
"Um... do I... know you?" Marina asked, looking puzzled.  
The girl gasped and her eyes widened, before she replied: "Oh no, how rude of me! I'm Vienne - although you probably know me better as Pearls best friend", she said with a sheepish grin, "Sorry for not introducing myself, but Pearl talks so much about you, it feels like I already know you personally." The sheepishness disappeared and was replaced by mischief again.  
"Well it's nice to finally meet you Marina! I'm sure we can be good friends!" the girl grabbed and vigorously shook Marina hand, despite the the taller girl not even having offered hers.

The octoling was quite confused, something that she seemed to be a lot lately.

She had no more time to ask the strange girl anything though, as suddenly the dim ilumination of the Inkopolis Square turned off and were replaced by bright pink and green lights. The crowd broke into cheers as the two idols finally appeared on the stage that normally Pearl and her used during their performances.

Callie stepped forward, holding a little speech, about how happy they were that so many people came, and how happy that they were back for now. Finally she finished talking, and the people cheered again, while the music began to play.

The time flew by as the inklings and other creatures, including Marina, got lost in the Squid Sisters songs.  
Most of the songs were well known by their fans, although were a few new ones the two had made together during their short hiatus.  
The music helped the tall octoling to forget her troubles with Pearl for a while, and she even thought that the inklings friend was nice while they both danced to the fresh beats.  
There was a moment where she suddenly disappeared with a worried look on her face after getting a message, but she soon came back, just in time to pull up Marinas hood which had threatened to fly off, due to her energetic dancing.  
With the music drowning out all the other sounds, Marina could only thank her with a sheepish smile, which received a grin and a thumbs up as an answer.  
Two hours filled with singing and dancing later, Callie stepped forward once again to speak: "Thank you all for coming again! Sadly our concert over, but we have one more song we'd like to perform, together with a special guest!"

Surprised and excited murmur washed over the crowd at those news, as everyone waited impatiently waited for the third singer to come on stage.

They didn't have to wait for long before a small, familiar inkling appeared and took her place next to the idols. Golden eyes scanned the surprised, and cheering crowd for a moment until they finally stopped for a moment at her two friends standing next to each other.

Marina was staring at her, eyes wide and full of surprise and shock and mouth open, and Pearl had to supress a giggle, thinking that the octoling looked kinda cute like that. Next to her, Vienne was jumping up and down, her everpresent enthusiastic grin even wider than usual as she was giving her two thumbs up. Pearl broke into a grin as well, a sudden burst of confidence rushing through her, even though not too long ago she had to call Vienne to her, because she felt so nervous she almost had fainted at the thought of what she was going to do.

Next to her, Callie spoke up again, and the crowds cheering died down again so they could listen.

"Tonight's concert was not just for us, but also for Pearl here, because she has a special someone that she has written a song for!"

Another excited and expectan murmur went trough the crowd, but when the music finally started, everything was silent - except for Pearls voice, echoing over the Square, with the Squid Sisters accompanying her in the background.

The inhabitants of Inkopolis listened, seemingly mesmerized by the inklings surprisingly pretty singing voice and the heartfelt, sincere lyrics that seemed to be from the deepest parts of her hearts, and not few of the listeners were moved to tears.

Marina was still frozen in place as she listened to her friends voice, which seemed to be filled with more emotion that would even fit in the small squid. She only awoke from her stupor due to a light jab to her side, causing her to look to her right, into the grinning face of the inkling girl.

"It's for you."

"...W-What?" the octoling asked, still mostly focused on the song and barely able to process anything right now.

"The song. She wrote it for you, Marina, isn't that obvious?"

Marina looked from Vienne back up to where her friend was singing the last bits of the song. As the music faded away, the crowd started to break into cheers, and many started to chant for an encore.

As the grin on Pearls face widened and the music started anew, the inkling grabbed Marinas hand and started dragging her away, towards the rooms where the idols stayed while they didn't have to perform.  
The security let them pass without questioning them, and they quickly reached Pearls room, where Vienne pulled her inside and closed the door.  
The music from outside could still be heard in the room, although only muffled.  
While Vienne was swaying back and forth, humming the songs soft melody, Marina sat down on one of the chairs, still feeling overwhelmed by the events that had just occurred. So many questions swirled through her head, but obviously a few of them were more important than others.  
"Were... were you serious?" she asked, her voice hoarse as her throat felt dry.

"Of course. I don't joke about something like that." she replied, now just smiling softly.

"Gee, you really didn't notice? It' so obvious. She never shuts up about you when we're doing something." she giggled, before her expression suddenly became serious. "But what do you feel Marina? How do you feel about Pearl? Do you like her that too?"

Marina looked away, biting her lip before she replied, her quiet voice quivering with uncertainty: "I... I don't know... maybe... I think I do, but, I never tried to think about it, because I was scared she wouldn't feel the same and that I would ruin everything and that she'd hate me or be disgusted..."

A brief silence filled the air, which was soon broken by the hysteric laughter of the pink tentacled girl. She was doubled over, desperately gasping for air through her laughing

"Y-you two are waaay more alike than I thought!" She managed to say when she finally calmed down, still giggling every few seconds. "It's really funny, y'know, cause you see, Pearl, she said the exact same things!"

She stepped towads Marina with an amused, but still gentle smile, putting her hand on her shoulder. "Don't worry about it, Marina. You just heard how Pearl feels, so you don't have to be scared to tell her anymore!"

It seemed like she wanted to say more, but she was cut off by the door opening and Pearl stepping in with a sigh. It took her moment to notice the too, and w her eyes widened a little.

"Oh."

Vienne flashed her signature grin and moved away from Marina and to the door, where Pearl stepped aside to let her out.

"Well, you two probably have a lot to talk about now, so I'll better leave you alone!"

She gave another thumbs up, probably directed at both of them, before quickly walking away with content hum. She had fulfilled her mission, now it was up to them to do the rest.

Heavy, awkward silence filled the air between them, neither looking the other in the eye. Suddenly they both tried to talk at the same time, which resulted in both of them stopping again and caused another awkward silence.  
Finally Pearl took a deep breath, and collected the little courage she had left in her tiny body.  
"Vienne told you it's for you, right?  
T-The... the song, I mean?" she muttered, her voice high and squeaky.  
"Y...yeah, she did..."  
Another silence, and it felt so deafening and suffocating that Pearl felt like she couldn't breath at all.  
Her heart sank when she saw Marina refusing to look her in the eyes, her face hidden by her tentacles.  
Great. Just great. She had completely screwed it up. Hot tears started to burn in her eyes, and she desperately looked for something, /anything/ to say to try and save this, until Marinas soft voice rang through the room.  
"I... um...I-I..." she struggled and stuttered trying to get out the words stuck in her throat.  
"I... dammit, why can't I just..." she groaned in frustration at herself. She took a deep breath to calm her nerves.  
"I-I like you too Pearl!"  
Her face was covered in a blush the same color as her ink, and she suddenly had a giddy smile on her face.  
It was Pearls turn now to look at her with big eyes, a blush also starting to cover her cheeks.  
"W-wait, really? Like, for real?"  
"For real!" Marina giggled, and Pearl felt like she was about to faint.  
"Then what do we do now?" she asked after getting her gayness under control.  
"I don't know, /you/ planned this whole thing! Shouldn't you know?"  
"Yeah, but I didn't even thought I'd get this far!"  
They both started laughing. "We really /are/ idiots, aren't we?"  
Pearl giggled, feeling a few tears run down her cheek, although from happiness.  
She was caught by surprise when Marina suddenly practically threw herself at her anf hugged her tightly, suddenly sniffling softly.  
"Pearl I... I was so scared that you would hate me if I told you how I feel...!"  
Softly wrapping her arms around the taller girl, rubbing her back soothingly.  
"Me too, Marina. I thought you'd be disgusted by me or that everything would be awkward... Vienne was right, I should have trusted you more", she paused and hugged her even tighter, hiding her now bright pink and tearstained face in Marinas chest, "...I love you Marina. You're the most important person to me in this world, and there's no one I'd rather be with right now."  
The octolings sniffling had almost completely died down as she pulled the small inkling closely to her.  
"I love you too Pearlie, so much! I don't know what I'd be doing without you..."  
Neither of them wanted to let go in that moment, both content with enjoying each others warmth. That is, until Pearl pulled away just a little, leaned up and placed a short, almost shy kiss on her new girlfriends lips.  
She pulled back way to quickly for Marinas taste, and so she leaned down a little to capture the other girls lips in a longer, more passionate kiss, catching the smaller girl off guard, who let out an adorable, surprised squeak.

It would be a while until the two of them would come out.

Hey hey, first time posting here. This story has been up for a while on Ao3 and I finally decided to put my trash up here too.  
Got nothing more to say except, if you enjoy gay squids, join my Discord friends - /9BBX55f


	2. Chapter 2

"...I'll start looking for a new recruit soon. I will keep you updated on their progress. We will get Callie back, so don't worry. Just take care of yourself and Agent 3."  
Maries voice echoed trough the small room that Captain Cuttlefish and the third Squidbeak Splatoon agent shared for the night. Just as Cuttlefish was about to reply to his granddaughter, said inkling came through the door, carrying heavy looking bags on both arms.  
The old man gave her a nod of acknowledgement and turned back to device in front of him,

looking nervous due to the girls arrival.  
"Yes, yes, thanks for reporting to me Agent 2, have a good night."  
The puzzled woman on the other end barely had time to say goodbye, before Cuttlefish hastily ended the transmission.  
Agent 3 barely took notice of the old mans nervousness while she unpacked her bags, revealing replenishment for their supplies. "Agent 3, our mission barely started, I don't think we already need all of this."  
They were planning some research on the cape, and they only were getting forward slowly, as they had decided to go by foot, to check if there wasn't trouble anywhere.  
With her usual, unmoving expression, the girl turned to look at him, her long orange tentacles swinging slightly with the motion. "It's always good to be prepared. Better safe than sorry",

she replied, before she turned back to her task at hand.  
"Were you talking to Callie and Marie?"  
"Only Agent 2. She updated me on how Inkopolis is doing."  
"I see. And? Anything new?"  
Cuttlefish hesitated for a second, too short for the girl to notice, before he answered.  
"No, it's as peaceful as ever, thankfully."  
"I see", the girl turned to him again. "Next time you could let me talk to them too." Her expression stayed the same, but her eyes gave away her disappointment, and her voice had an accusing edge to it. After all, the Squid Sisters were her friends too.  
"Ah, yes, I'm sorry Agent 3, but you know that Agent 1 and 2 are very busy. They don't have much time these days."  
A heavy, slightly disappointed sigh and a quiet "I know..." was the only answer he got.

Three days later, they had been on their mission for about a week now, they had traveled quite a bit, and no sightings of any enemies until now.  
Agent 3 was sitting in a small tent she had set up for herself and Cuttlefish, who was out at the moment. She was busy planning out the path they should take next, when she was ripped out of her thoughts by an incoming call on the transmitter.  
Quickly she picked it up to take the call, noticing that is was Marie, thanks to the little icon showing the caller. "Agent 3 here. Cuttlefish's out right now. Everything okay over there?"  
Agent 3 had always had a blunt and forward way of speaking, hating it to waste time with formalities.  
"Ah, Agent 3, it's good to hear from you again. I just wanted to update you and Cuttlefish about the new agents progress."  
The younger agent was quiet for a moment. "...new agent? What do you mean...?"  
"Did grandpa not fill you in about what's happening in Inkopolis right now?" the woman on the other end asked, confusion and surprise swinging in her voice.  
"Well, apparently not. Would you mind explaining to me?"

Cuttlefish had barely stepped into the tent when he froze, seeing Agent 3 with the transmitter. Of course she heard him, and her gaze, fell on the old man, and it felt like she was burning and freezing him at the same time with her eyes.  
"Thanks for filling me in Agent 2. Now if you excuse me, I need a word with your grandfather."  
Once again, the transmission was ended without giving Marie the chance to say goodbye.  
Cold orange eyes burned into Cuttlefish, while the girl started to speak, her words tumbling out of her mouth way too fast for comprehension, due to her anger.  
"Why didn't you- How could you- Argh!" She took a deep breath to collect herself.  
"Callie disappeared, and you're not telling me. _Why_?! How could you just keep that from me?!"  
Cuttlefish had recovered from his panicked paralysis, and now returned her icy flame with a stern gaze, like a father who was about to scold his daughter.  
"Because I knew you'd react like this. Besides, Marie already found a new Agent, and we have our own mission to worry about."  
"Who _cares_ about the fucking mission, _your granddaughter has disappeared_!"  
Her normally quiet and soft voice had risen in volume, so much that she was almost screaming. The emotions she usually restrained were flowing out of her freely, and she trembled slightly with rage.  
Yet, Captain Cuttlefish appeared unfazed by her outburst, and his next words hit her like a roller right to the face:

"You wouldn't act like this if it was Marie who disappeared, and we both know that very well."

The heat of rage inside Agent 3 turned into that of shame now, although she did quite well at hiding it, her expression still furious. She hated it when the old man mentioned her feelings for Callie, as it felt like a jab right into her heart everytime.  
"Callie or Marie, that's not the point right now! The point is that I need to go back to Inkopolis and _save her_!"  
Cuttlefish looked like he wanted to continue arguing, but he let out a resigned sigh instead. "Fine. Do what you have to do. I won't stop you." The old man stepped aside, away from the tents entrance, while the younger Inkling started to pack her bag.  
After she had finished that, she swung the now heavy bag over shoulder and stomped towards the entrance, not sparing a single glance towards Cuttlefish.  
"Agent 3."  
She paused, still not looking at him.  
"...be careful."  
The old man looked like he wanted to say more, but stayed silent, watching her with weary, worried eyes.  
Agent 3 only response was a quick nod, before she left the tent, out into the chilly night, a dark expression on her face.

The way back took the impatient inkling way too long for her taste, and she felt as if every second that she wasn't saving Callie was wasted.  
Finally, after three days which felt like forever, she arrived back in Inkopolis, hurrying over to the plaza. It had become more empty there, after most inklings started visiting the other parts of the town, and no one really payed attention while the girl hurried over to a grid, her, her long tentacles flying behind her while she jumped and transformed into her squidform midair, immediately plunging into the pipe under the grid.  
Arriving in the valley, the first thing she spotted was the broken snow globe, the glass spread in tiny shattered pieces around it.  
Hot anger bubbled back up at the sight, and the agent wasted no more time to jump to the stage where she had once faced the ocatarian DJ, plunging through the grid.  
When she got out at the other side though, she was surprised to find the stage almost completely empty. The other living beings were two octolings, both strangely without their usual goggles. Both stared at the agent in surprise and shock, and after recovering herself, said inkling used the opportunity to grab one of the octolings, holding her hero shot against the poor girl.  
"Where are you hiding Callie? And where is Octavio?! Lead me to him right now!"  
The octoling who hadn't been captured stared at the inkling with wide eyes. Dirt stained her clothing and face, and she had heavy bags under her eyes, which had a panicked and agitated expression. She also noticed that the girls hands trembled, but for what reason exactly, she couldn't tell.  
"Alright, alright, calm down! I'll bring you to Octavio just... calm down, and don't hurt her please..."

They had to go through countless of pipes, deeper and deeper into the octarians territory. Several times they were noticed, but since Agent 3 was still holding the octoling, who she had managed to hold onto even in the pipes, in a strong grip, no one dared to attack her.  
Finally she was led to a big boss kettle, which she eyed skeptically, before directing her gaze back to the octoling who had led her here.  
"You go first."  
The girl rolled her eyes and jumped into the kettle, and after a moment was followed by the other two.  
Agent 3 looked around the stage, noticing the giant metal... thing in the middle, and sure enough, DJ Octavio sat inside, looking up at the inkling, who finally let go of the poor frightened octoling. Said octoling was immediately grabbed by her girlfriend and dragged away from Agent 3, who payed no more attention to the two. She stepped onto the launchpad, getting catapulted right in front of the DJ, who stared at her with what appeared to be a smirk - it was hard to tell with is octopus features.  
"Give Callie back _right now_ Octavio, maybe the asskicking won't be as painful then."  
A laugh roared through the stage, deep and mocking in its tone as it echoed through the air.  
"Agent 3, I expected you. You came to save your precious Callie, how cute. Well, of course you can have her back, under _one_ condition." Suddenly, the machine started to rise, lifting itself from the ground, revealing the inkling standing behind it with a dark grin, eyes hidden by weird looking sunglasses.

"You'll have to fight her first."

Eyes wide with horror, the younger inkling stares at her friend, stumbling back a little. "C...Callie?! What?!" Her gaze flies back to Octavio. "What did you do to her? Why are you making me fight her, you coward?! Come here and fight me yourself!"  
"What, can't bring yourself to fight your dearest Callie? Guess you regret that little crush of yours now more than ever?" he mocked her, his eyes locked onto hers, reading the silent question out of the embarrassed squids face.  
"How I know? Well, maybe you shouldn't have all of your conversations with Cuttlefish right in front of your prisoners."  
The agents face flared up in bright orange, knowing he was right. The first time Cuttlefish had talked to her about her feelings was in front of the cabin in Octo Valley. Both of them seemed to have just forgotten that Octavio could hear everything they were saying.  
Cod dammit.  
Agent 3 was desperately looking for something to remark, while staring at Octavio with silent, burning hatred. She was just opening her mouth to say something, when another voice spoke up, drawing the two enemies attention to them.  
"Hey, I'm still here, y'know? Are we gonna fight now or what?"  
Callies voice sounded angry and aggressive, nothing like the normal Callie. Maybe the orange inkling could pretend that this wasn't her at all, just a twisted, fake version of her favorite idol.  
"Alright, I'll fight."  
She had beaten Octavio once, this would be just in the walk in the park, she tried to reassure herself.

It was, as expected, not as easy as she had hoped. Callie had immediately started to throw giant bombs, which the third agent barely managed to avoid by throwing herself to the side. Agent 3 spent most of the time dodging and swimming through her ink, which she tried to spread as much as possible whenever she had the possibility. It wasn't like she hadn't had the opportunity to attack Callie, oh no, they had been plenty of opportunities. But each time she tried to shoot at her, she froze, not able to hurt the one she loved after all.  
After what felt like hours of dodging the bombs and attacks to the best of her abilities, Agent 3 was panting heavily, her body aching after having been splat twice already.  
"Why aren't you fighting?!" Callie yelled, her face contorted into an angry grimace,

the hypnotized idol looking barely tired.  
Through her exhaustion, heavy breathing and racing pulse, Agent 3 could still hear Octavios bellowing laughter.  
"Can't do it after all, can you, little inkling?"  
Slowly she took a step back, hoping neither of her enemies would notice that she was trying to get to the launchpad that would get her out.  
"Fine, Octavio. You were right, I can't fight her. You win."  
With every word, she got closer to her escape.  
And then everything happened so fast, Callie yelled something and seconds later a bomb landed behind the agent. She managed jump forward, but still got hit by most of the bombs ink, slowing her down together with all the ink that had landed around her. Collecting the last of her strength, she tried to get up, though in vain as her hands slipped on the enemy ink, making her land face first back in the pink liquid.  
The inkling was barely conscious, only hearing the voices around her muffled. Seemingly out of nowhere, she was grabbed and pulled up roughly by two octolings, their eyes hidden away by shades similar too Callies. The last thing Agent 3 saw was Callie, scoffing at the pathetic sight of the ink-covered inkling, before she blacked out while she was dragged away.

Oh geez. Look at that. Hasn't been forever at all. Considering I have most chapter already finished and published. Whoops. Anyways, new chapter, whoo, enjoy and join my Discord if the link still works. Tell me if it doesn't


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